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8/31/11

The Juliet Spell - Douglas Rees

SYNOPSIS:Miri is up for the lead role in Shakespeare’s most famous play, Romeo and Juliet.
While she thinks that her audition went okay, there is no harm in
taking a few extra precautions, right? Casting a spell from a book she
had gotten a while back, Miri chants, “Make me Juliet...” What she gets
instead is a bright light, slight earthquake, and a scared teenager
sitting on her kitchen table. A teenager who turns out to be Edmund Shakeshaft,
aka Shakespeare – William Shakespeare’s younger brother, from the past.

Stuck
in the twenty-first century, Edmund does what he can to adapt to the
culture, learn it’s dialect, and make himself useful. Of course this
means trying out for the part of Romeo in Miri’s school play. With Miri
and Edmund cast as Romeo and Juliet, perhaps the love story that has
entertained people for centuries will repeat itself, that is Miri's hope, at least.

REVIEW:The Juliet Spell
had me wanting to go back to high school and read Shakespeare again.
Or at least, to get a book and read with a little more appreciation
than I had when I had the chance. The book as a whole, however, has
given me mixed feelings.

On
one hand, I loved it. The putting together of the play was
entertaining, and did take me back to High School quite a bit. The
camaraderie between the drama kids is exactly how Marching Band in High
School was for me; there were clicks, but also we were a unit that did
quite a bit together, including long grueling rehearsals and after
parties. I feel that Douglas Rees was right on in capturing the
atmosphere of a High School Drama Club. Character development and
interaction was great within the story, both are very important in my opinion.

Then
there is the other hand. I can’t say “on the other hand I hated it,”
that’s not true. There were just parts that didn’t sit well in my
mind. This book walks the line of science fiction and just plain ole
fiction. I think the biggest turn off for me was the way the sci-fi
parts were presented. Miri is going to do a spell, as if it is the most
normal, natural thing for a seventeen year old girl to do. The setting
of the book does not give off anything but a normal, typical town in
the United States, and while paranormal/science fiction/fantasy books
are popular, I’m pretty sure any normal, level-headed seventeen year old
is not off casting enchantments expecting any kind of result. Of
course, it has been over ten years since I was in High School…so who
knows.

The
other thing was the level of acceptance of Edmund and his situation.
First Edmund himself, while he cried like a baby…more than once might I
add… did not have a mental breakdown. In fact, his adjustment to the
modern world wasn’t even funny – and let me tell you, the scenario has
SOOO MUCH “funny” potential. That was a letdown. But then, as the book
moves forward, an additional four people are added to the “in the know”
crowd when it comes to where he has come from, and not one of them
really acts shocked, appalled, distraught, or even unbelieving. They
act as if crazy things like this happen every day. Once again, this
does not sit well with the, “this is a normal town” scenario.

Mostly, the book was a great read; entertaining and fun. I absolutely love all the Shakespeare talk, banter and references. I really want to read Much Ado about Nothing, right about now because of this book.

WHAT I LOVED: I loved that the romance in The Juliet Spell
was not over the top. I had a clue on how the book would end from the
very first few chapters, but watching the entire thing unfold was so
satisfying. It was romance muted down in a way I’ve found that many
male authors write it. I love books that are heavy on the passion and
tingly feelings, but this circling around each other method is more
like real life, and I enjoy it just as much.

NOT SO MUCH:I
know I’ve got an entire paragraph above, and while those things I
mentioned made the book kind of weird for me, but they weren’t the parts
that really stuck out to me as…eh. Miri’s Dad holds that position. I
don’t mind having a sappy, happy ending, I’m just not so sure Miri’s dad
deserved one. I don’t get it. I don’t know why that whole part was in
the book – and played such a prominent part. I’m sure the author had a
purpose, but I would have been just as satisfied if the opening of the
book explained how he took off, and left well enough alone where he was
concerned. Just my opinion of course.

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(I received this book via NetGalley)
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